How does it work ?
Nail a Frisbee upright on a skateboard.
Aim a garden hose at the Frisbee. The skateboard will scoot away.
Keep aiming the hose at the Frisbee until the skateboard makes it to Mars, so to speak.
Engineering issues involved: Do we need a squirt gun, a garden hose, or a firehose? Also: since we can't move the hose, how do we make sure that the skateboard keeps moving in a straight line?
Solar Sail concept... as stated in the article..
With a solar sail, one catches the "solar wind", and uses it to propel your vehicle much as a sailboat uses wind here on earth.. no difference..
With this concept, we create our own concentrated solar wind or it's equivalent.. much like a lazer compared to a flashlight..
All the mass is at the power source. That is mass that doesn't have to be moved to the destination..
Less mass, more speed with less energy..
However, due to the lack of an actual "engine" to propel or brake the vessel...
A second "mag-beam" unit must first be placed at or near the destination point..
approximately midway along the journey, unit #2 must take over, and provide an "equal and opposite" force for braking.. to slow the vessel to an appropriate speed and trajectory for orbital insertion..
There would still have to be some sort of propulsion device(s) on board for course corrections, attitude adjustment, etc..
But the amount of mass required for main propulsion, fuel, etc.. would be eliminated, resulting in a faster one-way and round trip..